Secondary rack



B. M. SMALLEY SECONDARY RACK Filed May 2l, 1949 Patented Nov. 3, 1953SECONDARY RACK Burton M. Smalley, Chicago, IIL, assigner to Joslyn Mfg.and Supply Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application May21, 1949, Serial No. 94,589

1 Claim. l

The present invention relates to power line hardware, and moreparticularly to secondary racks.

Secondary racks are employed in power line systems at a point wherepower is to be distributed from the main line. Secondary racks aregenerally mounted by means of a bolt adjacent each end', and the lateralpull on the insulators adjacent these bolts is transmitted directly tothe bolts. However, there are generally one or more insulators spacedalong the secondary rack between the bolts. The transverse pull on theseinsulators tends to bend the secondary rack outwardly in the areabetween the bolts. There is furthermore a vertical pull on all of theinsulators due to the weight of the various wires secured to them. Theweight of these wires also tends to bend the secondary rack in the areabetween the bolts.

In order to resist the forces tending to bend the secondary rack, therack may be made of thicker material, but if it is so made, it isconsiderably more expensive. Furthermore, if such an expedient is used,the thickness must be sufficient to withstand the greatest strain, l.e., that which occurs at the center of the rack. Accordingly, otherparts of the rack, most particularly the ends, are much stronger thanneed be, which is clearly unnecessary, and causes a great waste ofmaterial. The extra material increases the weight of the rackconsiderably, and it is always desirable to keep overhead structures aslight as possible.

In order to present the utmost stiffness at the point where the bendingtendency is the greatest.

and yet not have an excess of material at the end positions where thestrain is much less, I have provided a rack constructed of a pluralityof different sized parts secured to one another so that a, minimum ofmaterial will be used and the rack will be stiffer in its centralportions than near its ends. Only a single thickness of metal ispresented at the ends with two thicknesses adjacent the center sectionand three thicknesses at the center section so that a very rigid memberwhich will resist bending is formed.

All pole line material is exposed to severe weather conditions an isconsequently galvanized to resist corrosion. It is not desirable to Weldor rivet the various members of the rack together prior to galvanizing,as the zinc would not penetrate between the intimately contactingsurfaces, and after a period of time rust would develop between thesurfaces, causing considerable loss of strength. Furthermore, as therust (Cl. 24S-67.7)

displaces more volume than the metal itself, the surfaces wouldultimately be pushed apart by the tremendous force created. Consequentlythe rack is designed so that it can be made in a plurality of individualpieces which are galvanized separately. The individual pieces are thenfastened together with stainless steel rivets, making a completelynon-corrosive assembly.

In attaching wires to secondary racks, .it is diflicult to pull the wirefrom the ground level up into position in the rack. By curving thesurfaces of the rack adjacent the insulators, I have made it possible topull the Wire through the rack using an insulator as a pulley or bysliding the wire over the arm supporting the insulator without damagingthe insulation on the Wire.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a secondary rack whichis stii in regions receiving the greatest bending force, but which doesnot have an excess of material in regions not having such a greatbending force.

An ancillary object of this invention is to present a secondary rackwhich is made of a plulrality of component parts allowing the rack to bereadily assembled so that it is strongest in areas receiving greateststress.

A further object of this invention is to provide a secondary rack havingsmooth curved surfaces adjacent the insulators so that the insulation onthe wire will not be damaged if the wire isy moved along this surface.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a secondary rackwhich is symmetrical so that it is unnecessary to mount it with oneparticular end up. Other and further objects and advantages of thepresent invention will` become apparent with a perusal of the followingdescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of the secondary rack affixed to a pole;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of therack with the insulatorsremoved;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along theI line 3-3 in Fig. 1with the insulators removed;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the base portion of the rack;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the insulator supporting arm nearest the end ofthe rack; and

Fig. 6 is an end view of the insulator supporting arm adjacent thecenter of the rack.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to 3, it will be seen that therehas been shown a pole or support I0 on which has been mounted asecondary rack generally designated by the numeral I2. The rackcomprises a pressed steel back or base portion I4 which is substantiallychannel shaped or arcuate in cross section for stiffness. Transversearms I6 and I8 extend outwardly from and are integral with the base I4.The arms I6 and IB are likewise substantially channel-shaped or arcuatein cross section for stiffness and to present a smooth surface adjacentthe insulators to be described later. A second back portion 20 which istransversely shaped substantially in the arc of a circle for stiffnessand is secured to the base portion I4 by stainless steel rivets 22, hastransverse arms 24 and 26 of substantially the same shape as the backportion 29 extended from and Substantially parallel to the arms I6 andI8.

In the present embodiment there is a third back portion 28 having anarcuate cross-section similar to that of the back portion 20 and havlngintegral transverse arms 30 and 32 substantially the same as thetransverse arms 24 and 26. The back portion 28 is secured to the backportions I4 and 20 by means of stainless steel rivets 34. Each of thearms I9, I3, 24, 2t, 39 and 32 lies in the same plane and extendsoutwardly substantially the same distance from the back portion of therack. Each o! these arms is apertured as indicated at 36, all of theapertures being in line to receive a bolt 39 having a head 40 andsecured at the opposite end by a self-locking cotter key 42. Threeinsulators 49, 42 and 44 have longitudinal bores to receive the bolt 38and are mounted on it adjacent the end arms and between the two centralarms of the rack. Two more insulators could be placed on the rack ifdesired, but it is preferable to have them spaced, and with theconstruction shown it is possible to have the surfaces of the armsadjacent the insulators smoothly curved to avoid fraying insulation whenwire is dragged over the arms.

The base portion I4 is provided with apertures 46 and 48 adjacent itsextremities for receiving mounting bolts 50 which secure the rack to thepole I0. As is the general practice, the rack is secured to the poleprior to the insertion of the insulators and the bolt 38.

It is apparent that by the construction just described I have presenteda secondary rack which is the stiiest in regions requiring the greateststiffness and is as light in weight as possible, not being overly heavyand sti in regions not requiring great stiffness. It is further apparentthat the structure is completely non-corrosive and that wires may bedragged over the insulator mounting arms of the rack when the wire isbeing installed without damage to the insulation.

It is obvious that various changes may be made in the features ofconstruction shown and described, and yet remain within the spirit andscope of the invention and therefore I intend to be limited only by thefollowing claims.

I claim:

A secondary rack assembly comprising an integral elongated U-shapedmember having the legs at the ends of the intermediate body archedoutwardly for rigidity and providing end mounting arms, the intermediatebody being similarly arched for rigidity and having longitudinallyextending lateral mounting flanges for seating throughout their lengthsagainst a supporting pole and spacing the arched portion outwardlytherefrom, the ends of the intermediate body immediately within andadjacent said mounting arms having attachment means for attaching theentire rack assembly to a supporting pole, an intermediate secondelongated U-shaped member slightly shorter in length than said rstmember with the ends thereof disposed within and adjacent saidattachment means and similarly arched to externally nest on theintermediate body of said rst member for rigidifying substantially theentire intermediate body of said first member between said attachmentmeans whereby to resist bowing thereof under stress in the unsecuredportion between said attachment means, said second elongated memberriaving the legs at the ends thereof providing mounting arms eachcooperating with an adjacent mounting arm on said first member forsupporting an insulator therebetween, a third U -shaped member having anarched body shorter than said intermediate U-shaped member andexternally nesting on the arched central portion of said intermediatemember to provide maximum thickness and strength at the center of therack assembly to resist bowing in the unsecured portion between saidattachment means,

the arms of said third U-shaped member adapted te receive an insulatortherebetween and being apertured in alignment with apertures in theother mounting arms for receiving an insulator mounting stud, and meansfor securing together the nested arched portions of said members alongthe extent thereof between said attachment means.

BURTON M. SMALLEY.

References cited in the sie of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,524,141 Kyle Jan. 27, 1925 1,616,360 Foster Feb. 1, 19271,685,684 Smalley Sept. 25, 1928 1,821,222 Kyle Sept. 1, 1931 1,996,326De Coux Apr. 2, 1935, 2,008,744 Brady July 23, 1935 2,300,673 Johns Nov.3, 1942 2,302,883 Olivier Nov. 24, 1942.

OTHER REFERENCES Sectional Catalog No. 24, Line Material Company, datedDec. 1924, page 1216, Figures 1941 Catalog No. 3301, Line Material Co.,pages 3009, and 3014 and 3015.

